Electronic containment system for storing and charging an instrumented intra-oral appliance, and transmitting data therefrom

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a holding case for an instrumented intra-oral appliance containing recorded data, which charges the intra-oral appliance while not in use and transmits recorded data to storage for review and analysis. The transferred data may be subjected to downloading, validation, storage, analysis, measuring, database fusion (with for example data from other devices), data output, and data recording. Output may be further transferred to a computer, processor, phone, tablet computer, or other hardware for review by a user or technical, research, medical, or other oversight personnel. The holding case can also send data to the appliance including firmware or other onboard operating instructions. The holding case can include additional features such as custom dentition of the user, UV light, or a visual user interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application relies on the disclosures of and claims priorityto and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/158,778, filed Oct. 12, 2018, which claims priority to and thebenefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/571,410, filed Oct. 12, 2017. The disclosures of those applicationsare hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a holding case for an instrumentedintra-oral appliance containing recorded data, which charges theintra-oral appliance while not in use and transmits recorded data tostorage and/or for processing. The transferred data may be subjected todownloading, validation, storage, analysis, measuring, database fusion(with for example data from other devices), data output, and datarecording. Output may be transferred to a cloud server, computer,processor, phone, or other hardware for review by a user.

In one aspect, the case includes a portion of the intra-oral appliancewearer's 3D dental geometry, which matches or mirrors the particularcustom-shaped intra-oral appliance's geometry. In another aspect, theinvention comprises an apparatus for performing an intra-oral applianceintegrity check within the holding case. In a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, the case includes a mechanism for transferring ofdata from the case and/or intra-oral appliance to a cloud server orother physical or virtual storage media where the data can be processed,reviewed, and/or analyzed by the appliance wearer and/or technical,research, medical, or other oversight personnel. In a related aspect,the data is transferred from the case and/or intra-oral appliance to acentral data hub such as a computer, processor, phone, server, orstorage unit, which then transmits the data to a cloud server or otherstorage medium where the data can be reviewed by the appliance wearerand/or, technical, research, medical, or other oversight personnel. Inan aspect of this embodiment, the data may be processed or analyzedbefore or after it is reviewed.

In another embodiment, the case includes a UV light source within, near,or affixed to the holding case to completely or partially sterilize theintra-oral appliance.

In one embodiment, the case has a visual and/or graphical user interfacesuch as a touchscreen, a series of LEDs or a single LED, a series ofmulticolor LEDs or single multicolor LED, and/or physical buttons orswitches.

In another embodiment, a system of holding cases matched withinstrumented intra-oral appliances containing recorded data, charges theintra-oral appliances while not in use and transmits recorded data fromeach individual appliance labeled by appliance or appliance user to astorage and/or processing device, such as an internal or remote storageand/or processing device, for review, processing, and/or analysis.

In yet another embodiment, the case includes a mechanism to identify itsunique intra-oral appliance when in proximity to the case using awireless protocol such as radio frequency identification (RFID), nearfield communication (NFC), Bluetooth low energy (BTLE), or other lowenergy communication protocol.

Description of the Related Art

All references disclosed herein are incorporated by reference.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,018 describes a device that charges a DC batterywithout physical connection between the charger and the battery.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,677 describes a device that includes inductive coilsto charge a DC battery including a mechanical yoke in the charger casethat aligns the inductive coils. In aspects, the current invention usesthe wearer's anatomy as the alignment between the appliance and thecharging case.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0250517 describes a systemfor monitoring a team sport activity including a plurality of trainingdevices and a singular docking station to transfer data from theplurality of training devices to the singular docking station and chargethe numerous training devices. The system teaches sending data withinservice broadcasting packets. The current invention embodies a unique,custom case for one specific intra-oral appliance that is associatedwith the case, whereby the case not only charges the matched appliance,but also, in some aspects, transmits data recorded on the appliance,sanitizes the device, etc. One case per appliance eliminates the need ofthe system administrator to handle individual devices which are exposedto and possibly covered in the wearer's bodily fluids, such as saliva orsweat. The addition of individual cases for each appliance reduces therisk of contamination of the wearer's device by third party handling,cross contamination by the handling of multiple devices, orcontamination of the system administrator.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,092,251 describes an active packaging for electronicmedia device which provides power to the device while in packaging. Theintent of the current invention is to charge the appliance for continueduse and download the data from the appliance. These increase thefunctionality of the appliance by limiting the interaction withindividual devices and increases the time between charges.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0097700 describes aplurality of athlete monitoring systems which connect to a plurality ofdocking stations for charging. However, the current invention storesdata on the monitoring/measurement device, while the teachings ofApplication No. 2015/0097700 describe streaming data live to a basestation. The invention described herein allows for both individualcharging and data transmission from the plurality of appliances to aunique matched case.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a holding case for an instrumented intra-oralappliance containing recorded data. The holding case downloads data fortransfer to, in one embodiment, a central data location and charges theinstrumented intra-oral appliance, among other things. The holding casemay also include 3D dental geometry of the wearer to receive theappliance and can perform additional tasks such as a device integritycheck, sterilization, and provide a visual user interface for the user.The invention includes the implementation of a single holding case or agroup of holding cases as part of a system of cases to monitor aspecific population.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a holding case foran instrumented intra-oral appliance containing recorded data. Theholding case transfers data bilaterally with the appliance allowing forthe data from the appliance to be processed, analyzed, validated,compiled, and/or stored on the case or in another location, and data,input, information, instructions, or commands can be sent to the case tomodify the operation of the appliance. The case may also include aprocessor to process information from the appliance. The case may alsoinclude a storage medium to store information from the appliance. Thecase may also include an antenna to send information from the appliance,before or after processing, to a remote electronic device, such as aserver, computer, processor, phone, or television, by way of example.

In another embodiment, the case may comprise the apparatus for holdingthe intra-oral appliance, electronics for charging the electronicintra-oral appliance, electronics for downloading and/or transferringdata, and in some aspects custom dentition. The electronics may beglued, potted, snap-fitted, adhered, taped, press-fitted, or otherwiseattached to the case. The custom dentition may be 3D-printed,thermoformed, pressure formed, injection molded or otherwisemanufactured. The custom dentition may be glued, snap-fitted, pressurefitted, adhered, sonic welded, or otherwise attached to the case and/orelectronics.

In one aspect, the holding case includes 3D dental geometry of thewearer to receive the appliance. This would facilitate the accurateplacement of inductive coils and radio antennae for charging and datatransfer. Accurate receipt of the appliance, as defined by a fielddetect in the inductive coil of the case, may also initiate reading ofdata, transfer of data, charging, integrity checks, or other functionsperformed by the case.

The holding case, in some aspects, performs additional tasks, such asdevice and data integrity checks. These tasks are performed usingsensors on or in the appliance, and/or unique sensors within, in, or onthe holding case, or using a processor within, near, or on the appliancethat, in aspects, may have superior computing power to that containedwithin the appliance, or may be the same processor. Alternatively, aprocessor in, on, or near the holding container/case may be used.

In another aspect, a device integrity check includes the measurement offrequency data measured by sensors in the appliance when the applianceis inserted into the case. The action of inserting the device into thecase, in aspects, initiates data recording on the appliance, which alsoinitiates the appliance or the appliance case performing an integritycheck on the data. In other cases, a user may manually control when datais sent or received, or integrity checks performed.

A device integrity check may include sensors in the appliance case tomeasure interaction between the appliance and the 3D dental geometry inthe case including, but not limited to, surface area, force, pressure,or strain. Changes in surface contact would indicate the appliance hasbeen mechanically deformed.

In one aspect of this invention, the case comprises a UV light sourcewithin the holding case that sterilizes the intra-oral appliance. The UVlight source is designed to irradiate most or all surfaces of theappliance for sufficient duration to sterilize the appliance and istimed to occur before, during or after transmission of data.

The holding case, in certain aspects, includes a visual user interface.The visual user interface provides the user information regarding theappliance including that the correct appliance is in proximity to thecase, that the appliance needs to be serviced or replaced, that theappliance is not properly placed in the case, or the status of its datadownload, the status of the charge, that data should be reviewed by theuser on another device, that the user should contact technical,research, medical, or other oversight personnel, and other functionsrelating to the appliance, the user, and/or data on the appliance. Thevisual user interface may be provided on a separate device such as atablet, smartphone, computer, server, or other electronics display.

In another embodiment, the visual user interface provides a third partysuch as a parent, coach, practitioner, or technical, research, medical,or other oversight personnel, information regarding the case and/or theappliance, including if it needs to be serviced or replaced, the statusof its data download, the status of the charge, the amount of time theappliance has been in use, if the device memory is full, that datashould be reviewed on another device, etc. Such visual user interfaceprovided to a third party may also act as an alert of the state of theuser or the appliance, for example a visual indicator may be provided tocommunicate a traumatic head impact event experienced by the personwearing the appliance.

The invention comprises the implementation of a single holding case or agroup of holding cases which are part of a system to record and transmitdata related to a specific population. An implementation of a group ofholding cases as a system, in one aspect, also includes a central hubthat charges the holding cases or stores, analyzes, or processesinformation. The charging of the cases could be accomplished eitherwired or wirelessly.

In one embodiment, firmware updates for cases or appliances aretransferred from the central hub, a server, or a computer to the casesand/or appliances, or a singular case and/or appliance. This filetransfer can be performed over the air via wireless protocol, through aninductive coil used for charging and transferring data, through a directwired connection, or any other means.

Such firmware updates may be for the appliances, in which case thefirmware would be transferred from the central hub, a computer, or aserver directly to the appliances, or through the case as connected tothe appliance. This file transfer can be performed over the air viawireless protocol, through an inductive coil used for charging andtransferring data, through a direct wired connection, or any othermeans.

In another aspect, data from an appliance or a plurality of appliancesare reviewed on a local central storage device. The local storage devicemay include, but is not limited to, a phone, tablet, computer or otherelectronic device with a user display.

In yet another aspect of this invention, the data from an appliance or aplurality of appliances are reviewed remotely after data has been sentto a cloud server location, another computer, a phone, or other remoteelectronic device. The data can be reviewed as a whole, or a subset ofdata can be reviewed that is selected manually, randomly, based onspecific criteria, or based on data integrity evaluations conducted bythe appliance, the appliance case, the central data hub, computersoftware, or cloud-based software.

In one embodiment, the only data observed from an appliance or aplurality of appliances locally is their charge and download status toprotect the data privacy of the appliance's wearer from the local systemadministrator.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a case for an electronicintra-oral appliance is provided that charges the intra-oral appliance,and downloads and/or transfers data from the intra-oral appliance.Charging may be accomplished by wired or wireless means of providingelectricity to the case and/or the intra-oral appliance coupled to thecase.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the case transfers datato a computer, smartphone, tablet computer, processor, a server, or thecloud for storage and analysis. Such analysis may include, but is notlimited to, human performance data or health metrics, blood oxygenlevel, heart rate, head kinematics (e.g., experienced during impactevents, with an emphasis on avoiding recording false positives), etc.

In another embodiment, data transferred from the intra-oral applianceand the results of the analysis are sent for review by a user, such ason a computer, television, smartphone, tablet, or other hardware. Theanalysis of the data may occur on a processor, a computer, a smartphone,a tablet, or any other software located on hardware, a server, on thecloud, or otherwise. The data may be transmitted to a central repositoryeither wirelessly or by wired communication/connection. In otherembodiments, the analysis and output may be performed by electronicsand/or processor(s) located on, in, or near the case. Data may also bestored on a storage device on, in, or near the case.

In another embodiment, the data analysis feedback to a user may comprisebiostatistics, indication of possible traumatic event, injury, orcondition, possible diagnoses of a traumatic event, injury, orcondition, along with possible treatment of such event, injury, orcondition, including whether to consult with a physician.

In another embodiment, the data analysis feedback to technical,research, medical, or other oversight personnel may comprisebiostatistics, indication of possible traumatic event, injury, orcondition, possible diagnoses of a traumatic event, injury, orcondition, along with possible treatment of such event, injury, orcondition, including whether to consult with a physician.

In another embodiment, the data analysis feedback to technical,research, medical or other oversight personnel may comprisebiostatistics, indication of elevated risk of possible traumatic event,injury, or condition, or possible prescriptive treatments or alterationsin training to mitigate the elevated risk of possible traumatic event,injury, or condition.

In another embodiment, the case and associated software/firmware mayperform electronics, structural, data, and other integrity checks on theintra-oral appliance. Feedback is provided to a user if, for example,the electronics, structure, data, or other component of the intra-oralappliance and/or recording system has been compromised. In the case of agroup of cases as part of a system, feedback is provided to the systemadministrator.

In another embodiment, the results of electronics, structural, and dataintegrity checks are sent to research, technical, medical, or otheroversight personnel. If the device requires replacement or service,notification is sent for a replacement appliance to be manufactured orshipped to replace the damaged or compromised device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate certain aspects of some of theembodiments of the present invention, and should not be used to limit ordefine the invention. Together with the written description the drawingsserve to explain certain principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a photo of a possible embodiment of an electronicintra-oral appliance case according to the present invention with arechargeable battery; electronics circuit board including amicroprocessor, memory, antenna for wireless communication, andcircuitry for battery charging; a portion of the wearer's dentition (thegeometry of the wearer's dentition fit into the bottom half of thecase); to receive the instrumented appliance.

FIG. 2 shows a portion of the dentition according to one possibleembodiment of the present invention, which was included in theintra-oral appliance case. The occlusal surface is shown to depict thesurface area that interacts with the intra-oral appliance. The undersideis also shown to depict how an inductive coil can be placed to alignwith an inductive coil in the appliance.

FIG. 3 shows an appliance container according to one possible embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows one possible embodiment of the invention taught herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention has been described with reference to particularembodiments having various features. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the practice of the present invention without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention. One skilled in the art will recognizethat these features may be used singularly or in any combination basedon the requirements and specifications of a given application or design.Embodiments comprising various features may also consist of or consistessentially of those various features. Other embodiments of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromconsideration of the specification and practice of the invention. Thedescription of the invention provided is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the essence of the inventionare intended to be within the scope of the invention. All referencescited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

Embodiments of the invention also include a computer readable mediumcomprising one or more computer files comprising a set ofcomputer-executable instructions for performing one or more of thecalculations, steps, processes and operations described and/or depictedherein. In exemplary embodiments, the files may be stored contiguouslyor non-contiguously on the computer-readable medium.

Embodiments may include a computer program product comprising thecomputer files, either in the form of the computer-readable mediumcomprising the computer files and, optionally, made available to aconsumer through packaging, or alternatively made available to aconsumer through electronic distribution. As used in the context of thisspecification, a “computer-readable medium” is a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium and includes any kind of computer memory suchas floppy disks, conventional hard disks, CD-ROM, Flash ROM,non-volatile ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), and RAM. In exemplary embodiments, the computer readablemedium has a set of instructions stored thereon which, when executed bya processor, cause the processor to perform tasks, based on data storedin the electronic database or memory described herein. The processor mayimplement this process through any of the procedures discussed in thisdisclosure or through any equivalent procedure.

In other embodiments of the invention, files comprising the set ofcomputer-executable instructions may be stored in computer-readablememory on a single computer or distributed across multiple computers. Askilled artisan will further appreciate, in light of this disclosure,how the invention can be implemented, in addition to software, usinghardware or firmware. As such, as used herein, the operations of theinvention can be implemented in a system comprising a combination ofsoftware, hardware, or firmware.

Embodiments of this disclosure include one or more computers or devicesloaded with a set of the computer-executable instructions describedherein. The computers or devices may be a general purpose computer, aspecial-purpose computer, or other programmable data processingapparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the one or morecomputers or devices are instructed and configured to carry out thecalculations, processes, steps, operations, algorithms, statisticalmethods, formulas, or computational routines of this disclosure. Thecomputer or device performing the specified calculations, processes,steps, operations, algorithms, statistical methods, formulas, orcomputational routines of this disclosure may comprise at least oneprocessing element such as a central processing unit (i.e. processor)and a form of computer-readable memory which may include random-accessmemory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM). The computer-executableinstructions can be embedded in computer hardware or stored in thecomputer-readable memory such that the computer or device may bedirected to perform one or more of the calculations, steps, processesand operations depicted and/or described herein.

Additional embodiments of this disclosure comprise a computer system forcarrying out the computer-implemented method of this disclosure. Thecomputer system may comprise a processor for executing thecomputer-executable instructions, one or more electronic databasescontaining the data or information described herein, an input/outputinterface or user interface, and a set of instructions (e.g. software)for carrying out the method. The computer system can include astand-alone computer, such as a desktop computer, a portable computer,such as a tablet, laptop, PDA, or smartphone, or a set of computersconnected through a network including a client-server configuration andone or more database servers. The network may use any suitable networkprotocol, including IP, UDP, or ICMP, and may be any suitable wired orwireless network including any local area network, wide area network,Internet network, telecommunications network, Wi-Fi enabled network, orBluetooth enabled network. In one embodiment, the computer systemcomprises a central computer connected to the internet that has thecomputer-executable instructions stored in memory that is operablyconnected to an internal electronic database. The central computer mayperform the computer-implemented method based on input and commandsreceived from remote computers through the internet. The centralcomputer may effectively serve as a server and the remote computers mayserve as client computers such that the server-client relationship isestablished, and the client computers issue queries or receive outputfrom the server over a network.

The input/output interfaces may include a graphical user interface (GUI)which may be used in conjunction with the computer-executable code andelectronic databases. The graphical user interface may allow a user toperform these tasks through the use of text fields, check boxes,pull-downs, command buttons, and the like. A skilled artisan willappreciate how such graphical features may be implemented for performingthe tasks of this disclosure. The user interface may optionally beaccessible through a computer connected to the internet. In oneembodiment, the user interface is accessible by typing in an internetaddress through an industry standard web browser and logging into a webpage. The user interface may then be operated through a remote computer(client computer) accessing the web page and transmitting queries orreceiving output from a server through a network connection.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and the arrangement of the components setforth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced orcarried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

In embodiments, the case and associated electronics are designed suchthat a single design can accommodate a wide range of custom ornon-custom intra-oral appliances. In aspects, the electronics componentsand/or electronic circuitry are located toward one end of the case withan inductive coil facing the remaining open section of the case. Aportion of the wearer's dentition is, in aspects, the only unique partof the case. The rest of the case may be standard. In aspects, a coil inthe appliance is aligned with an inductive coil in the case. The portionof the wearer's dentition can be moved in two linear axes and arotational axis in the plane of the two linear axes within the case andthe bottom surface can be modified to align the coils in the verticalaxis and around the other two rotational axes.

In such an example, the case is capable of communicating via one ormultiple communication protocols. The case may communicate with theintra-oral appliance via a low power communication protocol such asBluetooth low energy or even by physical connection between theappliance and case, and data from the appliance may be communicated to acentral data hub, computer, server, or other electronic device via WIFI,wired communication, or any other communication protocol. Data from theappliance may also be communicated to a processing unit in, on, or nearthe case, which may then be processed on the case and, in aspects,information from this processor may be sent to the intra-oral appliance;alternatively, this data, either pre-processed or not processed may becommunicated to a remote electronic device. Data from the appliance mayalso be communicated to storage media located in, on, or near the case.This stored data may be processed directly in, on, or near the case, orsent to a remote electronic device, such as a server, computer, phone,or television for processing. Accordingly, data from the appliance maybe sent directly from the appliance to a remote electronic device,including storage and/or processing unit; data from the appliance may besent to a processor in, on, or near the case; and/or data may from theappliance may be sent to storage media in, on, or near the case. Thesevarious options allow all communication which may occur between theappliance and the case to occur within the case, or outside remoteelectronic devices may be used to assist with data transfer, processing,storage, analysis, or other use of the data from the appliance and/orthe case.

A case or a plurality of cases may be part of a system of cases. Thecases may powered externally by a central power source or by battery(internal or external). Each case, when powered, downloads data from itspaired appliance via Bluetooth low energy, for example, and charges thepaired device via an inductive coil, in certain aspects. The caseuploads the data to a processer, a server, or a cloud based server viaWIFI, wired communication, or any other communication protocol. Afterthe case or cases have completed downloading and uploading the data fromthe appliances to a central data hub, for example, they can remainconnected to the central power source or each individual case can bepowered individually to enable the complete charging of the appliance.

In the example in which cases are part of a system of cases, the casesmay be powered by an external or internal power source. Each case, whenpowered, downloads data from its paired appliance via Bluetooth lowenergy, for example, and charges the paired device via an inductivecoil, a battery, or wired power source. The case uploads the data to acloud-based server, a processor, a storage unit, a controller, acomputer, a phone, a server, or any remote electronic device via WIFI orany other communication protocol. After the case or cases have completeddownloading and uploading the data from the appliances to a central datahub, for example, they can remain connected to the external power sourceto complete the charging of the appliance.

In preferred embodiments, the present invention is directed to a holdingcase/container for an instrumented/electronic intra-oral appliancecontaining recorded data, which charges the intra-oral appliance whilenot in use and transmits recorded data to storage or processing forreview and analysis; storage or processing can be in, on, or near thecontainer, or remote from the container. In aspects, after the storeddata is analyzed or otherwise processed, information can be transmittedback to the case and/or appliance. Including these features in theappliance's case increases the utility of the appliance itself. A largercapacity battery can be placed into a case than can be placed within theappliance itself, or other power can be applied to the appliance. Thisenables charging during typical storage of the appliance. Also, becauseof the battery or other power source, the frequency of charging the caseis reduced, which would limit the number of times a user needs toplug-in or place the case on an inductive charging pad, for example. Byhaving the case automatically transfer data from the appliance to thecase, a processor, a controller, a computer, a phone, a server, thecloud, and/or a remote electronic device, the user is not burdened withthis process, and greater computing power may be used in electronics nothaving to be located in the appliance itself. This is especiallybeneficial if data does not need to be reviewed immediately, such as ifit is to be stored, reviewed, and/or analyzed at a later time.

In one embodiment, the case will further be able to transfer datadownloaded from the appliance to a secondary device. This allows for theutilization of existing user interfaces and computing power in devicessuch as computers, processors, controllers, computer processing units,laptops, smartphones, servers, etc. This also allows data and softwarefrom other sources, such as from remote electronic devices, to becombined and connected to the case and/or the appliance, and analysis,processing, and/or storage to be performed on a larger set of data withenhanced software and/or computing power.

In another embodiment, a portion of the wearer's 3D dental geometry isintegrated into the case. In one aspect, this allows for the alignmentof inductive charging coils with a battery or batteries, or a matingcoil or coils, associated with the appliance. In small devices such asan instrumented intra-oral appliance, the inductive coil is small andsusceptible to misalignment with its mating coil. This misalignmentcauses reductions in the charging efficiency and results in heating ofthe coil. By using the wearer's 3D dental geometry to design theappliance and the case, the inductive coils can be aligned. Further, themechanical retention designed to hold the appliance in place on thewearer's dentition also acts to hold the appliance in the correctposition in the case.

Including a portion of the wearer's 3D dental geometry also facilitatesincluding mechanical integrity tests into the case. Wearers often chewon their intra-oral appliance. In some cases, pets will chew onappliances. This can cause accelerated wear of an intra-oral applianceand can diminish or eliminate the proper fit of the appliance. If anappliance does not fit correctly, it could collect erroneous data. Anill-fitting appliance could also have diminished effectiveness inapplying forces to teeth in the case of orthodontic appliances. Having arepresentative portion of the wearer's 3D geometry in the case allowsfor checking the mechanical integrity, shape, and/or alignment of theappliance. In one aspect, the mechanical integrity test is passivewithin the case. For example, if the appliance has an inertial sensorsuch as an accelerometer, the act of seating the appliance onto thedentition in the case would generate acceleration data on the appliance.The appliance could record that signal or event of seating into thecase. When the case downloads the data, it could evaluate the last eventto determine if it has the expected features including frequencycontent, magnitude, duration, etc.

In another aspect, the mechanical integrity test is active by, forexample, including additional sensors in the appliance case. Specificcontact points or areas of the wearer's dentition that are critical toretention could be instrumented in the case. Those areas could have loadcells, force sensors, strain gauges, pressure sensors, or some othertype of sensor located either on the dentition or integrated into thedentition to measure the mechanical fit of the appliance. Apredetermined threshold of force, strain, and/or pressure could be usedto evaluate if the mechanical properties of the device have changed.

The results of an active or passive mechanical integrity check are thencommunicated to either the wearer or technical, research, medical, orother oversight personnel. The user is informed if he/she is in chargeof managing the device and ordering a replacement. In other cases, theparents, coach, practitioner, or other third party would be notified ifa user's device needed to be replaced (for example, if the user is achild). Other scenarios exist in which the negative results of amechanical integrity test could be sent to the wearer's doctor, dentist,orthodontist, etc., which would facilitate the generation of aprescription for a replacement. For example, in the case ofnon-prescription appliances, the negative results of a mechanicalintegrity test could be provided to a team equipment manager, sportsscientist, or the device manufacturer to enable the most expeditiousreplacement or correction of the device.

Including a portion of the wearer's 3D dental geometry also facilitatestransfer of data. If the dental geometry of the appliance and the 3Dgeometry in the case line up or otherwise match, it may signal andinitiate the transfer and/or receipt of data.

Since, in embodiments, the case facilitates the transfer of data to aprocessor or another device for the evaluation and analysis of data,this provides broad implementations where both the appliance wearerobserves his/her own data and implementations where the data is reviewedor analyzed by technical, research, medical, or other oversightpersonnel. A case for which the wearer would review his/her own data mayinclude, for example, an instrumented appliance which acts as anorthodontic realignment appliance. The data could indicate to a wearerwhen he/she should change from one realignment appliance to another in aseries of realignment appliances. Another instance could be if theappliance is a sleep monitor. The user could review his/her sleep datasimilar to existing sleep monitoring devices.

Implementations that may require the data to be reviewed and analyzed bymedical personnel are for, for example, sleep apnea appliances. Datacollected from an appliance that facilitates a home sleep study could besent to sleep clinic personnel to review and analyze. An implementationthat would require review of data by research personnel could also bethe collection of kinematic data during head impacts in sportsapplications. Team, league, parental, medical, or other oversightpersonnel could analyze data to determine if an intervention should beadministered such as training, further evaluation, medical treatment,removal from participation, or other interventions to improve athletesafety.

In embodiments, the inclusion of a visual interface on the case allowsthe wearer or technical, research, medical, or other oversight personnelmanaging the case to know the status of the case and the appliance. Forexample, an LED or series of LEDs could provide visual feedback usingdifferent color lights, sequences of flashing lights, or constantillumination of a color. In an aspect, a solid blue (or other color)light may indicate that data is ready and needs to be uploaded to acentral data repository. In another aspect, a flashing blue light wouldindicate the case is receiving data from the appliance, a flashing greenlight indicates the appliance is being charged, but data is not beingtransmitted, a solid green light would indicate the appliance ischarged, a solid red light indicates a mechanical integrity testfailure, and a flashing red light indicates the case is low on power.These are provided as examples and are not thought to be exhaustive.

The holding cases can be implemented for individuals or as a system fora group of individuals. The holding case has additional utility whenincluded in a system for a group of individuals. This aspect allows eachuser to handle his/her own appliance and place it into the case ashe/she would a traditional appliance and case. This allows theadministrator/manager of the system to only handle cases. Implementing aphysical barrier between individual intra-oral appliances and the systemadministrator/manager eliminates the need for the administrator/managerto directly handle each appliance. This prevents the systemadministrator/manager from being contaminated by saliva or having towear and change surgical gloves often. It also prevents crosscontamination between wearers by eliminating the need for a third partyto handle each device.

When smart holding cases are implemented as a system for a group, theintent would be that each individual would handle his/her appliance andplace his/her own device in the appropriate case. Furthermore, theappliance and device could be labeled to ensure the appliance was placedin the correct case. However, there are scenarios where an unlabeledappliance would need to be matched with its case. One example is if agroup of unlabeled appliances were sanitized in a central container. Asthey were removed, the appliances would need to be matched with theirrespective cases. The appliances could have a passive RFID or NFC tagthat was paired with the correct case. The case in turn would have anactive RFID or NFC antenna in the lid or otherwise in the case. Thiswould allow a system administrator/manager to move the appliance over aseries of cases to identify the matching case without having to identifythe correct case by trial and error.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows an electronic case with abattery 1010, electronics including memory and a microprocessor 1020,and the geometry of the wearer's dentition fit into the bottom half of acase 1030. The instrumented mouthguard appliance 1040 is also shown.

FIG. 2 shows a hollow model of a wearer's dentition from the occlusalsurface 2010 and the underside 2020, depicting an inductive coil tocharge the intra-oral appliance.

FIG. 3 shows a standard case with electronics in one end depicted inyellow 3010 and a portion of the wearer's dentition with an intra-oralappliance 3020 depicting the three degrees of freedom 3030 used to alignthe inductive coil in the case with inductive coil in the intra-oralappliance.

FIG. 4 shows a method wherein data from a population of appliances maybe shared and analyzed separately or collectively. In one possibleembodiment, there are a plurality of appliances constituting apopulation 4010, such as, for example, an athletics team. Data from eachathlete is stored on an appliance used by a particular athlete 4020.Each appliance in the population is paired to a specific container in aplurality of containers 4030. In preferred embodiments, each applianceis pre-paired or paired to a container before use of the appliance. Eachcontainer has a processor which receives data from the appliance towhich it is paired and sends that data to a remote electronic device,such as another processor, server, computer, or phone 4040. The datafrom each separate appliance, separately and/or collectively, insituations, is analyzed 4050. The analyzed data may be sent back to anappliance, the plurality of appliances, a computer, a phone, a server, acoach(es), a parent(s), a doctor(s), or anybody or any devicesupervising the data, appliances, cases, or athletes, by way of example.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed features may beused singularly, in any combination, or omitted based on therequirements and specifications of a given application or design. Whenan embodiment refers to “comprising” certain features, it is to beunderstood that the embodiments can alternatively “consist of” or“consist essentially of” any one or more of the features. Otherembodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention.

It is noted in particular that where a range of values is provided inthis specification, each value between the upper and lower limits ofthat range is also specifically disclosed. The upper and lower limits ofthese smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in therange as well. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is intendedthat the specification and examples be considered as exemplary in natureand that variations that do not depart from the essence of the inventionfall within the scope of the invention. Further, all of the referencescited in this disclosure are each individually incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties and as such are intended to provide anefficient way of supplementing the enabling disclosure of this inventionas well as provide background detailing the level of ordinary skill inthe art.

1. A container system for an electronic intra-oral appliance comprising:an electronic intra-oral appliance, comprising one or more sensors andone or more memory units configured to store data received from the oneor more sensors; a container comprising a cavity for holding and/orresting the electronic intra-oral appliance; circuitry configured tophysically and/or wirelessly connect the electronic intra-oral applianceto the container; one or more computer processing units, wherein the oneor more computer processing units are configured to receive data fromthe intra-oral appliance; and a wired or wireless link configured totransmit data from the one or more computer processing units and/or theelectronic intra-oral appliance to one or more remote electronicdevices.
 2. The container system of claim 1, further comprising a powersource configured to charge the electronic intra-oral appliance and/orthe container.
 3. The container system of claim 1, wherein the wired orwireless link is also configured to receive data sent from the one ormore remote electronic devices.
 4. The container system of claim 1,wherein the cavity of the container is open on one or more sides of thecontainer.
 5. The container system of claim 1, wherein the cavity of thecontainer is fully enclosed.
 6. The container system of claim 1, whereinthe one or more remote electronic devices are chosen from one or more ofa server, a computer, a computer processing unit, a phone, a television,or a storage medium.
 7. The container system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more sensors are chosen from an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an oxygenlevel monitor, a blood oxygen level monitor, a heart rate monitor, ahead kinematic monitor, a load cell, a force sensor, a strain gauge, apressure sensor, a microphone, a blood osmolality sensor, a bloodglucose sensor, a PPG sensor, a NIR sensor, an ECG, and/or a lightsensor.
 8. The container system of claim 1, wherein the cavity comprisesa full or partial dental geometry of a wearer of the electronicintra-oral appliance and/or a full or partial dental imprint of a wearerof the electronic intra-oral appliance.
 9. The container system of claim8, wherein the full or partial dental geometry of the wearer of theelectronic intra-oral appliance and/or the full or partial dentalimprint of the wearer of the electronic intra-oral appliance in thecavity of the container is configured to receive the electronicintra-oral appliance.
 10. The container system of claim 8, wherein thefull or partial dental geometry of the wearer of the electronicintra-oral appliance and/or the full or partial dental imprint of thewearer of the electronic intra-oral appliance in the cavity of thecontainer is configured to align with all or a portion of the electronicintra-oral appliance shape.
 11. The container system of claim 1, whereinwhen the electronic intra-oral appliance is placed in the cavity of thecontainer, transfer is initiated of data stored on the electronicintra-oral appliance to the one or more processing units and/or the oneor more remote electronic devices.
 12. The container system of claim 2,wherein the power source is chosen from one or more of a battery, aninductive coil, a wired source of electricity, or an electrical outlet.13. The container system of claim 1, further comprising one or moresensors, gauges, circuit boards, memory units, storage media, lightsources, sound sources, user interfaces, and/or antennas.
 14. Thecontainer system of claim 1, further comprising a visual user displayand/or interface.
 15. The container system of claim 1, furthercomprising a graphical user display and/or interface.
 16. The containersystem of claim 1, further comprising an ultra-violet light element topartially or completely sterilize the electronic intra-oral appliance.17. The container system of claim 1, further comprising one or moresensors configured to measure physical and/or electronic contact betweenthe container and the electronic intra-oral appliance.
 18. The containersystem of claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors configured toquantify the mechanical and/or electrical integrity of the connectionbetween the container and the electronic intra-oral appliance.
 19. Thecontainer system of claim 1, wherein upon insertion of the electronicintra-oral appliance into the container a mechanical, structural, and/orelectrical integrity check of the electronic intra-oral appliance isinitiated.
 20. The container system of claim 1, wherein upon insertionof the electronic intra-oral appliance into the container the one ormore computer processing units is prompted to record, store, transfer,transmit, send, read, analyze, download, upload, export, import, and/orprocess data from the electronic intra-oral appliance.
 21. The containersystem of claim 1, wherein the data is capable of being analyzed todetermine the mechanical, structural, and/or electrical integrity of theelectronic intra-oral appliance.
 22. The container system of claim 1,wherein the data is capable of being analyzed to measure and/or monitorhuman performance or health metrics, head trauma, possibility of injury,blood oxygen level, heart rate, blood osmolality, blood glucose,elevated risk of injury, and/or head kinematics.
 23. The containersystem of claim 1, wherein the container is one of a plurality ofcontainers, and wherein the plurality of containers are associated witha plurality of electronic intra-oral appliances.
 24. The containersystem of claim 23, wherein each one of the plurality of containers ispaired to a single electronic intra-oral appliance of the plurality ofelectronic intra-oral appliances.
 25. The container system of claim 23,wherein information from the plurality of containers and/or theplurality of electronic intra-oral appliances is capable of beingtransmitted to a server, a computer, a processor, a storage unit, acomputer processing unit, a controller, a phone, and/or a television.26. A method of collecting data from a plurality of electronicintra-oral appliances comprising: providing a plurality of electronicintra-oral appliances; storing data on the plurality of electronicintra-oral appliances; pairing the plurality of electronic intra-oralappliances to one or more of a plurality of containers, wherein thecontainers comprise a processor configured to receive and send the datafrom one or more of the plurality of electronic intra-oral appliances;transmitting data stored on the plurality of electronic intra-oralappliances to one or more remote electronic devices; and analyzing datareceived from the plurality of electronic intra-oral appliances.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, wherein each one of the plurality of electronicintra-oral appliances is paired to one container of the plurality ofcontainers.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the one container of theplurality of containers is capable of recognizing the electronicintra-oral appliance paired to said one container by wired or wirelesscommunication between said one container and the electronic intra-oralappliance paired to said one container.
 29. The method of claim 26,further comprising identifying one or more of the plurality ofelectronic intra-oral appliances using a low power wireless protocol.30. The method of claim 26, further comprising sending information fromthe one or more electronic devices to one or more of the plurality ofelectronic intra-oral appliances and/or to one or more of the pluralityof containers.